German Patent No. 199 17 207 describes an emergency-call device for a motor vehicle, which sends out an emergency message to a rescue coordination center in the event of an accident. The vehicle is equipped with a sensor system for detecting translational accelerations, rotational accelerations, changes in the vehicle body's shape, braking operations, and/or steering motions. Critical driving situations, accidents in particular, are recognizable by analyzing sensor data to enable automatic placement of an emergency call. The geographic position of the vehicle involved in the accident is transmitted to the rescue coordination center together with the emergency call. According to German Patent No 199 17 207, the emergency message should also contain information for initiating appropriate relief measures. Examples of this type of additional information include the vehicle ID, the vehicle type, the number of occupants, possible acute sicknesses of vehicle occupants, the sequence and severity of the accident, and the severity and extent of injuries of the vehicle's occupants.
The manner in which the type and extent of the individual occupants' injuries may be determined is not specified.